The present invention relates to a powdered food-grade blend of a polysaccharide and a crystalline polyol for adhering particulate flavors, seasonings and coloring agents to food substrate. The blend is easy to prepare and maintains its free flowing powder form at room temperature under elevated humidity, while still being able to melt and function as an adhesive on application of heat.
There are many commercial applications wherein it is desired to adhere various particulate additives, for example flavoring agents such as sugar, salt, cheese powder, spices and the like to the external surfaces of foodstuffs, such as cereal, crackers, cookies, or snack foods such as potato chips, pretzels, tortilla chips, popcorn, or nut products.
It is desirable that the adhesive used adds little or no flavor to the foodstuff. Further, the material must not only be readily applicable, but must be capable of providing strong adherence, even after the foodstuffs have been subjected to packaging, transport, and storage.
Fats and oils have traditionally been used for adhering particulate additives such as flavoring and/or coloring agents to these foodstuffs. However, as a result of recent market demand for low-fat and fat-free foodstuffs, these traditional adhesives often have been abandoned in favor of lower calorie substitutes.
These non-fat adhesives include gelatin, starch pastes, and malt syrups which have the disadvantage of decreasing adhesive forces over time such that the particulate additives tend to fall off prior to reaching the consumer or lack sufficient adhesive force such that they can only be used effectively in large quantities. Further, when using such water-based adhesives, it is necessary for the manufacturer to drive off the water after application so that the foodstuff does not absorb it and lose its crisp texture. This post-drying step not only requires additional processing time and equipment, but also introduces one more variable to control. Finally, traditional non-fat adhesives tend to be sticky due to their high ability to absorb moisture.
Recently, enzyme modified food starches have also been used as adhesives. For example, JP 56 49406 discloses the use of adhering flavoring agents to foods using a waxy starch hydrolyzed by α- and β-amylase.
Various other polysaccharide compositions are known in the art as being useful as adhesives, including those useful for adhering flavoring and/or coloring agents to foodstuffs. JP 61250090 discloses an adhesive tape or label in which pullulan is coated on one side of a releasing paper. JP 03047040 discloses an adhesive containing a polysaccharide, water, and ethanol. Chemical Abstract # 121:203917 discloses marshmallows coated with an edible adhesive material, such as gelatin, and powdered sugar. JP 61246239 discloses adhesive compositions useful for packaging which contain pullulan.
Numerous hot melts are known in the art. Typically, these hot melts are inedible, substantially water insoluble, and used as packaging adhesives. However, several edible hot melts are known: For example, JP 57158276 discloses an edible hot melt adhesive composition containing an ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer, a tackifying resin, and a paraffin wax which is useful for the manufacture of vessels for storing edible oil-containing foods. Edible hot melts are also known for use as a protective coating: for example US Defensive Publication 729,549 discloses edible hot melts containing solid monoglycerides, solid C2–C4 fatty acid acylated monoglycerides, or solid poly(oxyalkylene) glycerols with solid hydroxypropyl cellulose.
Although edible, none of these hot melt compositions disclose, or are even useful for, the present application of adhering particulate additives such as flavoring and/or coloring agents to foodstuffs, primarily as they are not free-flowing powders and/or do not have the ability to melt quickly at low temperatures.
The use of an edible hot melt has recently been described in U.S. application Ser. No. 08/670,885 to Billmers et al. in which a polysaccharide and a plasticizer are melted together and then formed into a dry powder. Since the formulation of this reference has been completely melted in the processing step (e.g. extrusion), it is in the amorphous state and can easily absorb moisture from the environment and form undesirable clumps. To keep the formulation as a free flowing powder anti-caking additives and waxes are utilized to over-come these drawbacks.
Surprisingly, it has now been discovered that an edible powdered blend of polysaccharides and crystalline polyols is capable of acting as an adhesive for adhering various flavorings and/or coloring agents to foodstuffs.